Huntsville Hospital Health System in Huntsville, Ala., and Sentara Health Plans, a subsidiary of Sentara Healthcare in Norfolk, Virginia, will form of a new company to deliver health care services to Medicaid recipients in Alabama.

Sentara Health Plans expands to Alabama

Providers in today’s healthcare industry face increasing pressure to change the way they do business. The Affordable Care Act is just one of many programs intended to slow rising costs and shift risk to providers. All while hospitals, health systems and doctors look to improve care and adopt new technologies.

Those are just some of the driving forces behind the announcement this week that Huntsville Hospital Health System in Huntsville, Ala., and Sentara Health Plans, a subsidiary of Sentara Healthcare in Norfolk, Va., will form of a new company to deliver health care services to Medicaid recipients in Alabama.

This first-of-its-kind partnership is expected to cover more than 120,000 Medicaid enrollees in 10 counties of Northern Alabama. The new entity will operate as a not-for-profit Regional Care Organization and will be responsible for all aspects of care for Medicaid patients in the region. It is anticipated that the new organization, which could employee as many as 400 people between Virginia and Alabama, will be based in Madison County, Alabama.

Details of the operational plan are expected to be finalized in the coming months and will require final approval from the state of Alabama.

Hear more from the Sentara Health Plans and Huntsville leadership on their hopes for this partnership.